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eegoing's review
3.0
4 stars for the writing: this book is dreamy and poetic.
2 stars for the story and keeping my attention: like someone else said, this book is meandering. The premise was up my alley, but the story was not engaging and several characters were just pointless.
Kuddos to Stacey D’Erasmo on the research though. I listened to a podcast where she talked about trying to go on tour with smaller bands like the one she was trying to depict, but no one wanted to let her go on tour with them (she settled for going on tour with Scissor Sisters …). And I like that she thanked Thomas Bartlett in her acknowledgements. I like that guy.
2 stars for the story and keeping my attention: like someone else said, this book is meandering. The premise was up my alley, but the story was not engaging and several characters were just pointless.
Kuddos to Stacey D’Erasmo on the research though. I listened to a podcast where she talked about trying to go on tour with smaller bands like the one she was trying to depict, but no one wanted to let her go on tour with them (she settled for going on tour with Scissor Sisters …). And I like that she thanked Thomas Bartlett in her acknowledgements. I like that guy.
ruthailuj's review
4.0
I found this book interesting, poetic, quiet and pleasant all while the protagonist is in the midst of a tour of Europe, a midlife dilemma, a struggle for identity without art, and a rock-n-roll scene.
D'Erasmo has written a book that hits on how art (music, visual, and written) is ambiguous and "awash in insecurity and instability". She gives us a montage of flashbacks: a childhood of traveling the world with her artist parents, past album tours, drug-induced creative processes, loss, letters to her sister, past relationships, fears, daydreams, and possibilities. I finished the last page and the first thing that came to mind was- Satisfied.
D'Erasmo has written a book that hits on how art (music, visual, and written) is ambiguous and "awash in insecurity and instability". She gives us a montage of flashbacks: a childhood of traveling the world with her artist parents, past album tours, drug-induced creative processes, loss, letters to her sister, past relationships, fears, daydreams, and possibilities. I finished the last page and the first thing that came to mind was- Satisfied.
nomadreader's review
3.0
(originally published at http://nomadreader.blogspot.com)
The basics: Wonderland is the story of Anna Brundage, a forty-four year old indie rock star who has been out of the public spotlight for seven years. She's on her international comeback tour promoting her latest album, which she had to self-finance. Wonderland unfolds in the present, on tour, as Anna also recollects her first rise and fall in music, as well as her life until now.
My thoughts: Wonderland is one of those books I wanted to like so much more than I did. The premise is fabulous--a female indie rock star primed for a comeback and traveling across music drinking and playing shows? It's practically tailor-made for me. Yet as I read, I never felt connected to Anna. Worse still--I never particularly cared about her. D'Ersasmo is a gifted writer, and I enjoyed myself as I read, but I kept waiting for something more, and this never fully came together for me. Still, it was a quick read, and I enjoyed the time I spent with it, but I doubt it will stay with me for long.
The verdict: Despite a premise that immensely appealed to me and strong writing, Wonderland fell flat for me. I wanted more from Anna as a character because so much hinges on her internally and externally.
The basics: Wonderland is the story of Anna Brundage, a forty-four year old indie rock star who has been out of the public spotlight for seven years. She's on her international comeback tour promoting her latest album, which she had to self-finance. Wonderland unfolds in the present, on tour, as Anna also recollects her first rise and fall in music, as well as her life until now.
My thoughts: Wonderland is one of those books I wanted to like so much more than I did. The premise is fabulous--a female indie rock star primed for a comeback and traveling across music drinking and playing shows? It's practically tailor-made for me. Yet as I read, I never felt connected to Anna. Worse still--I never particularly cared about her. D'Ersasmo is a gifted writer, and I enjoyed myself as I read, but I kept waiting for something more, and this never fully came together for me. Still, it was a quick read, and I enjoyed the time I spent with it, but I doubt it will stay with me for long.
The verdict: Despite a premise that immensely appealed to me and strong writing, Wonderland fell flat for me. I wanted more from Anna as a character because so much hinges on her internally and externally.
kwalks's review against another edition
I can't blame the book for my abandoning it because I could not get passed the narrator's performance. Maybe I'll try it in print or eink.
uniquepixels's review
3.0
I won an advance copy of this book via goodreads. Also, English is my second language so forgive me for my mistakes.
First of all, I'm not really sure about this book. The first half of the book was great and I even underlined a couple of good quotes. Anna is surely and interesting women. She had a lost of adventure in her life and she's always going back. The major problem of this book is while Anna is trying to make sense with her past, we can easily get lost because the chapters are going back and forth between the past and the present. It is really hard to follow. And it seems that the book can be a little boring when the story doesn't progress.
The reason I still gave 3 stars apart from the fact that I liked the beginning, is because the author has a lot of talent in finding the perfect words in any situation. We can also see that she put a lot of time in writing this book. I will read another book of the author one day because she is definitely worth a second chance. Oh, and as for the ending, I'm satisfied with Anna and how she changed from the first pages.:-)
First of all, I'm not really sure about this book. The first half of the book was great and I even underlined a couple of good quotes. Anna is surely and interesting women. She had a lost of adventure in her life and she's always going back. The major problem of this book is while Anna is trying to make sense with her past, we can easily get lost because the chapters are going back and forth between the past and the present. It is really hard to follow. And it seems that the book can be a little boring when the story doesn't progress.
The reason I still gave 3 stars apart from the fact that I liked the beginning, is because the author has a lot of talent in finding the perfect words in any situation. We can also see that she put a lot of time in writing this book. I will read another book of the author one day because she is definitely worth a second chance. Oh, and as for the ending, I'm satisfied with Anna and how she changed from the first pages.:-)
theartolater's review
2.0
I really disliked this book.
It's not so much the subject matter (where our protagonist is a touring musician and it made me think of a lot of nights in rock clubs 10-15 years ago watching bands play) but the way this entire book was put together. It tries to be a statement, it tries to be a little literary, and it just kind of falls apart under its own weight. Such an otherwise cool conceit could have been done in a better way that would have been more compelling.
Not much else to say about it, but just not really recommended.
It's not so much the subject matter (where our protagonist is a touring musician and it made me think of a lot of nights in rock clubs 10-15 years ago watching bands play) but the way this entire book was put together. It tries to be a statement, it tries to be a little literary, and it just kind of falls apart under its own weight. Such an otherwise cool conceit could have been done in a better way that would have been more compelling.
Not much else to say about it, but just not really recommended.
lenny9987's review
3.0
This was originally supposed to be a preview but unfortunately life got in the way so now it’s a timely review. Released this past Tuesday, May 6th, Stacey D’Erasmo’s latest novel Wonderland tells the tale of Anna Brundage as she tries to revive her musical career after a lengthy hiatus. Only ever having had modest fame and success, the comeback tour brings memories of past tours and struggles to the surface. The daughter of an innovative artist whose large-scale commissions led to a nomadic childhood, she relates many of her own struggles to those she witnessed in her father. The novel has plenty of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll, but embarking on the road after so many years, how has Anna’s perspective on those staples changed?
For the complete review, please visit my blog:
http://wp.me/pUEx4-y9
For the complete review, please visit my blog:
http://wp.me/pUEx4-y9
laurapeschroe's review
5.0
Loved the language and flow of this book even if I didn't love the plot so pretty